On Monday, Jackson State and Southern University went head-to-head in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. SWAC is a collegiate athletic conference made up of all historically black colleges and universities in the southern region. General Motors, a proud supporter of HBCUs, has been an exclusive partnership of the SWAC for 2 years currently had set for a student influencer to present the championship trophy.
The company aspires to be the most inclusive company in the world with a step in that right direction by advocating for HBCUs on multiple levels. Who was a better choice to partner with none other than Ms. HBCU herself, Brandy Merriweather. As a young publicist and Clark Atlanta University student entrepreneur, who advocates for HBCUs, her goal is to give opportunities to the community through her personal partnerships and highlighting student influencers to show that there is a space for them alongside these big companies. Terese Anselmi, a GM Diversity Brand Communication executive, gave insight into the goal behind the partnership of the SWAC Championship Game saying, “It’s a multi-year sponsorship by strategically placing themselves in the Black and Brown communities by reaching a younger audience. The younger audience has some hesitation behind electric vehicles, so we want to show authentically this is our presence, this is how we support, and this is where GM is going with its all-electric future.” Outside of GM and SWAC’s spartnership GM has made efforts to connect with the Black and Brown community by working with HBCUs and creating a program with Chevrolet, Chevrolet Discover the Unexpected, which is a 10-week internship providing HBCU students from around the country an opportunity to intern in marketing and journalism which they are actively recruiting for. In the coming year, they are working with GM’s talent acquisition to have a permanent place at HBCUs career fairs to pull more talent into the pipeline to GM.
Brandy understand marketings as a young publicist and uses her platform to amplify HBCUs. Her journey started behind the scenes but recently has evolved to her being in front of the camera which for her is new, but doesn’t mind it as it continues to strengthen the force behind her advocacy goal. When asked about her initial connections to the opportunity of presenting the trophy, Brandy says that she had been following the brand for a while. “Specifically, Cadillac. That’s the only cars my family drove. It was like collectors for my family but that was also our working vehicle.” Brandy herself drives a Cadillac now giving ode to her Indiana and Detroit roots as a reason to why this car has been in her family. Along with her personal reason, she viewed GMs efforts in Atlanta sponsoring multiple things in the Black community consistently so when they reached out, she was proud to take the opportunity.
To be attending the SWAC Championship for her is something she defines as “bigger than her”. It shows that there is a space for a particular person that advocates for HBCUs through their experience. “Outside of education, GM has made efforts to help the coaches with vehicles and giving out scholarships and so to me, yeah, my presence is great, but to amplify what they are doing. To me that is so important. When one brand participates and does it organically and authentically that when the next company does it. This is an opportunity to get more visibility for what they are doing but also show the value in the HBCU community.” She hopes with her efforts that she creates a message and platform for other student influencers to tell their stories because “you never know who’s watching”. In the black community, so much is communicated orally and so to have visual representation of how HBCUs operate whether it’s a TikTok or YouTube video allows for others outside and inside the community to view and understand parts they may have never been shown. For Brandy, being at Clark Atlanta allowed her to learn more about her culture and experience other people that look like her but from other places. “Sharing stories is important but also sharing knowledge and experiences that each other has had is so valuable while bridging the gap economically.”
Higher Learning Institutions like Jackson State has really changed an apart of the culture through sports. Having Deion Sanders as their coach has brought various opportunities never seen to HBCU cultures such as HBCU football now being broadcasted on major channels like ESPN. Changes like these are what Brandy loves and a reason why she partnered with GM. For students who may not be heavily involved on campus events like the championship games helps to engage them and give insight into the various opportunities that are being created for HBCUs.
The Jackson State Vs. Southern University championship game had momentum to be the game to change HBCU culture and Brandy agreed. “This game is going to change the visibility of HBCUs and seeing all the talent, skill and production that can be put on at HBCUs is going to be entertaining while bringing more opportunities for brands to be more present.”
To learn more about GM’s efforts to support the Black community follow them at @gmc on social media platforms and to keep up with Brandy’s journey of advocacy follow her on social media platforms at @mshbcu.